The Art of Brotherly Love

Develop a healthy and robust community,
one that is centered around God -- alone.
When treating each other with honor and dignity,
you'll reap the harvest you richly have sown.

In peace through the Spirit; together in unity;
make every effort to live in this way.
​If one of you errors and sins with impunity,
​gently pursue them without a delay.

Choose truth over pretense and speak with sincerity;
we are Christ's body, connected as one.
When we favor lying instead of integrity,
we cheat ourselves when its all said and done.

Speak gently to women of years soft and motherly,
treat the old men as the father you knew.
Engage with young men in a manner that's brotherly,
maidens as if they were sisters to you.

Do not look away, hoping problems will disappear,
deal with them openly out in the light;
assuming the issue's so small to act cavalier,
​thinking it surely will turn out alright.

You cannot ignore those whose lives are promiscuous,
flippant to God's ways or rude to their friends.
Their greed and their drunkenness can't be continuous,
with love and firmness it all has to end.

When coming together, be clothed in humility;
God shuns the proud -- gives the humbled his grace.
Turn rumor and gossip around to civility;
speak in their absence as you would their face.

We must bear the "burden" of being considerate;
empathy's easier shared with one heart.
Devotion to family is often deliberate;
​practice makes perfect since love is an art.

The Revival

The Revival

Unfold! Unfold! Take in His light,

Who makes thy cares more short than night.
The joys which with His day-star rise
He deals to all but drowsy eyes;

And, what the men of this world miss
Some drops and dews of future bliss.
Hark! How His winds have changd their note!
And with warm whispers call thee out;

The frosts are past, the storms are gone,
And backward life at last comes on.
The lofty groves in express joys
Reply unto the his voice;

And here in dust and dirt, O here
The lilies of His love appear!

The Thrush Still Sings

No matter what disaster brings,
The sun still shines, the thrush still sings;
The mountain stream still tumbles by;
The wolf still wails its mournful cry.
The wind still waves the prairie grass;
The moon still makes its nightly pass.
The flowers bloom; the earth renews
In brilliant reds and pinks and blues.
The sea still swells its foaming tides,
While 'neath the waves the whale still glides.
The deer still walks the forest glade;
The oak and elm still spread their shade.
The snow still falls on mountain slope;
The heart still fills with love and hope.
The ocean still erupts with waves;
The blood of Jesus Christ still saves.
No matter what disaster brings,
Almighty God, supreme, still reigns!